Three episodes in, and Lethal Weapon has settled snugly into FOX's schedule. Though it's far from a creative triumph, the show has come out of the blocks with surprising confidence and a real handle upon the kind of stories it wants to pursue. It's not breaking the rule book for cop shows, and it's already settled into a very set weekly formula and not venturing out a great deal from it, but Lethal Weapon has certainly earned its place as one of this fall's highest-rated dramas.
This week's episode, Best Buds, continues that solid start and builds upon it. It continues to be averse to truly risky storytelling and leans on some familiar vices that already feel tired, but it's the strongest episode of the three thus far, skilfully blending Lethal Weapon's myriad elements into an all-round solid hour of popcorn television.
Best Buds elevates itself above its two predecessors through combining the elements of the show that already work with a more robust story. Last week's case was a pretty threadbare affair with paper-thin characters and a very predictable story, so it's great to see Best Buds put a lot more work into its case of the week. For one, the episode concentrates on a core guest character who proves to be at the centre of the drug-related crimes, which is Murtaugh's old training officer Ned Brower (Ted Levine). Ned isn't a particularly complex creation, but his motivations and back-story are teed up enough for the revelation of his eventual involvement to work - and because there's a relatively well-realised character at the story's core instead of a bunch of forgettable cardboard cutouts like last week, it raises the emotional stakes just a little bit more in the final confrontation.Lethal Weapon continues to operate at a basic level in regards to its weekly cases, but the case that Best Buds serves up is considerably more engaging than the previous two, because the show puts time into establishing genuine twists and turns in the tale rather than heading in a straight line to an inevitable conclusion. It's not unpredictable, per se, but it's noteworthy how much more involving the episode feels when there's a decent story from which the other elements such as the buddy cop camaraderie and character arcs can pivot.
Again, it's Riggs and Murtaugh who receive the lion's share of the character work and screen-time here. As a general note, it's great to see Lethal Weapon spending a considerable amount of time on scenes that don't directly contribute to the plot, but merely allow us to hang out with its consistently enjoyable central duo and watch their spiky relationship grow. Their camaraderie is well-established now, but it's still a lot of relaxed fun to see the two spar over petty, small matters which in turn establishes the way they're increasingly absorbing aspects of the other's personality - the 'there/here' running gag is an example of something that's not vital to the story, but acts as a fun way to build their relationship nonetheless.
Murtaugh's story is considerably more interesting in Best Buds, mostly because it efficiently expands our understanding of his wider life beyond the confines of the show's events. His arc of wishing to spend time alone time with Trish is slight, but it works because it sheds light upon the way in which the two complete each other; they may spend most of their lives physically afar, but that doesn't diminish their relationship in any way. It's kind of rare to see a loving, married couple on television where the drama isn't derived from faults in their relationship but rather in how they choose to evolve it, and Lethal Weapon continues to benefit from the refreshingly relaxed, warm vibe to their scenes.Riggs' story is where Best Buds unfortunately shoots blanks. Ironically, considering how the focus is on Riggs' reliance on familiar, yet ultimately damaging vices, the plotline itself feels like a familiar but damaging vice to Lethal Weapon itself at this point. All three episodes thus far have gone to the same well of Riggs' inability to move on from his wife's death, with hazy, nostalgically remembered visuals of happier times to hammer the point home, and Best Buds fails to accomplish anything genuinely new with the character, despite the continuously strong work of Clayne Crawford in communicating Riggs' dazed, self-destructive depression. It creates a feeling that the show is running in place with Riggs and relying far too much on the tired old cliche of a man missing his dead wife, which is a shame considering the vast potential of the character.
Nonetheless, Best Buds keeps Lethal Weapon's momentum going. It's a solid all-rounder of an episode, where character work sits nicely along an involving and fleshed-out case of the week, along with the well-established continuously fun tone and camaraderie. Riggs is one area of the show where Lethal Weapon feels deadlocked in the same old patterns, but aside from that, it's clear from this episode that the show is already coming on leaps and bounds.
Episode Grade: B+
+ Stronger case of the week
+ Enjoyable camaraderie
+ Good character work with Murtaugh
- Repetitive Riggs story
